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International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs)

International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) are used by countries within the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA) to reduce errors and delays in making international payments. An IBAN is always used in conjunction with a Bank Identifier Code (BIC) when sending or receiving payments with a beneficiary abroad.

• More information on IBANs.
• More information on BICs.
• How to find out your own unique IBAN.
• Checking an IBAN.
• When to use an IBAN.
• What to do if your beneficiary hasn’t given you their IBAN and BIC.
• Countries that use IBANs.

More information on IBANs.
An IBAN uses existing sort codes and account numbers, as well as a two-letter country code, check code and issuing code. This makes it easier to read and check. An example for The Co-operative Bank would be:

More information on BICs.
The BIC is a standard identifier for banks internationally. It is issued by SWIFT and should be used on all international payments. The Co-operative Bank’s BIC is printed below:

The Co-operative Bank BIC: CPBKGB22A

How to find out your own unique IBAN.
Your own IBAN can be found on your paper statements, online statements and recent items.

Checking an IBAN.
It is important that you check the format of each IBAN before you send a payment. You can visit the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) website or use the table at the end of this section to check if a format is correct. However, this check will not tell you if the account exists, merely that an IBAN is correctly configured.

When to use an IBAN.
If you are making a payment in Euros to a qualifying European country (listed below), then you must use the beneficiary’s IBAN and BIC. Conversely, if you want to receive a payment then you must supply your IBAN and BIC. Under European Directive, payments which are made within the European Union to Euro accounts without a valid IBAN and BIC can be rejected and this could lead to additional costs as the payment will need to be processed manually.

What to do if your beneficiary hasn’t given you their IBAN and BIC.
If you need to make a payment to any country which has adopted the IBAN, you must use the beneficiary’s IBAN and BIC code. They can find this on their statements. Failure to provide this information can result in your payment being rejected and subsequent charges will be imposed. If the beneficiary hasn’t provided their IBAN or BIC, you should ask for these details.

Countries that use IBANs.
The following table shows all countries that use IBANs:

The following countries use the same IBAN format as France (ie 27 characters beginning FR):

French Guinea, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion, Saint Pierre et Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna Islands.